This easy Creamy Sausage Pasta dish is made with Italian sausage, penne pasta, and creamy sauce that binds everything together! Pure comfort food at its best with simple ingredients that turn into one delicious meal.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Pasta dinners are some of the easiest to learn how to cook. The possibilities are endless, just ask the Italians! This pasta is inspired by the Italian pasta alla Norcina, made with truffles and sausage in a creamy sauce. Since truffles are not a common ingredient, I used mushrooms, for that similar umami flavor. They work so well with the sausage!
This creamy sausage pasta quickly became a family favorite in our home. It's quick and easy to make, packed with flavor (thanks to the Italian sausage) and absolutely delicious! Easy pasta dinner is always a winner in my book! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- sausage: I used mild Italian ground sausage; ground or links can be used;
- pasta: any bite-size pasta works, I used penne;
- veggies: garlic, onion, and mushrooms; add flavor to the sausage sauce;
- stock: needed to deglaze the pan after cooking sausage, you can use white wine, chicken stock, or broth;
- cream and milk: also known as half and half, makes the sauce rich and creamy but not heavy;
- Parmesan cheese: added at the end to make the sauce cheesy.
How to make creamy sausage pasta?
- Start by cooking pasta until al dente.
- In a Dutch oven or a deep skillet, saute garlic, onion and mushrooms in olive oil.
- Add Italian sausage and cook until brown.
- Add stock to the pan and deglaze the bottom, by scraping any cooked-on bits with a wooden spoon. Add milk and cream, season with salt and pepper, and simmer until thickened.
- Add pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Add Parmesan cheese and stir in to melt.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
What to serve with this pasta dinner?
When pasta is on the menu, I almost always make my skillet focaccia to go with it. It's perfect for soaking up the last bits of the sauce!
When it comes to sides, a simple salad works every time. I go for my tomato feta salad or creamy cucumber salad. They will get your appetite going and ready for the delicious main dish!
Variations:
- pasta: I prefer bite-size pasta for this dish but you can use fettuccine or linguine too;
- meat: you can use hot Italian sausage to add some kick to the dish; ground beef works great too but add Italian seasoning to browned meat;
- veggies: you can skip the mushrooms, add spinach, diced tomatoes, peppers, etc.
- sauce: add 2 ounces of cream cheese to make the sauce thicker and creamier.
Helpful Tips!
- Remove sausage from the fridge before you start cooking. It will allow it to come to room temperature.
- Add a mixture of cornstarch with milk to thicken the sauce to your preferences. Leftover pasta water is a great for thinning out the sauce.
- Use a deep skillet or a Dutch oven to make this dish.
Recipe FAQs:
Any leftovers need to be stored in the fridge, preferably in a container with a lid. Store it for up to 3 days.
To reheat, place pasta in a skillet and add a splash of water, milk or chicken stock to get the sauce creamy again.
You can prepare the whole dish, cool it, chill it in the fridge and reheat later. You can make the sauce a day ahead, chill it in the fridge, then cook pasta and combine with sauce before serving.
That's a great idea! Cook the pasta and make the sauce. Combine all in a large baking dish, like 13" by 9" casserole dish, sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly on the sides.
More pasta dinners:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Creamy Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 oz penne pasta
- 1 lb Italian sausage mild or hot, ground or links
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 6 oz white mushrooms
- ¼ cup chicken stock or white wine
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Mince garlic, finely chop onion and slice mushrooms. Set aside.3 garlic cloves, 1 medium yellow onion, 6 oz white mushrooms
- If you are using sausage links, remove the casings.1 lb Italian sausage
- Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain pasta and set aside.12 oz penne pasta
- In a deep skillet or a Dutch oven, heat up oil over medium heat.1 tablespoon olive oil
- Add onion and saute for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add garlic and mushrooms and sautee until fragrant.
- Add sausage to the pan and sook until browned.
- Mix cream and milk with cornstarch.¾ cup heavy cream, ¾ cup whole milk, 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- Add stock to the pan and deglaze the bottom, by scraping any cooked-on bits with a wooden spoon. Add milk and cream, season with salt and pepper, and simmer until thickened.¼ cup chicken stock or white wine, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Season sauce with salt and pepper.
- Add pasta to the sausage sauce. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Add pasta water if the sauce is too thick for your likings.½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Garnish with chopped parlsey and serve.
Notes
- Any bite-size pasta works for this dish. Use hot or mild Italian sausage. Ground beef works great too!
- Add spinach, diced tomatoes or peppers to the dish.
- Prepare the pasta and sauce, pour into a casserole dish, top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until bubbly.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Dana M Johnson says
This as very tasty! Unfortunately I didn't realize until afterwards, that the directions that I had printed out didn't mention when to add the chicken broth or wine! Also, what about the reserved pasta water??
Anna says
Hi Dana! In step 9, it says to add the stock. I updated step 11 to include the pasta water. I hope this helps!
Dana M Johnson says
Thank you so much!! It will be even better next time!
Karin says
When do you add the wine/chicken broth?
Anna says
Hi Karin! I updated step 9 to include the stock. So sorry!
Abeer says
I also added some sun dried tomatoes and dinner was fabulous!
Andie says
This is the recipe that I didn't know I needed in my life! So yummy and pretty easy to make! Will be making again and again and again...
Jamie says
We loved this creamy sausage pasta! So much flavor all in one dish!
Vee says
I made this and can I say it was a 10 out of 10. Sooo good. I have now told my niece all about crunchy creamy sweet...as soon as I get married..these recipes are going to make him stay in love with me ... lol